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April – MrT’s Gardening Year 2026 – Episode 04
April, the time where the garden changes from flowering bulbs to flowering shrubs.
Please click on a thumbnail to see the photographs that go with the podcast:
Still dry:
There has been sunshine, some very warm days but very little rain. Any rain has been completely ineffective!
April brings the change from the bulbs that welcome spring to the flowering shrubs that mark the next phase in the garden. There are wonderful late tulips in the border, flowering very well this year. Last year nothing!
Many of the daffodils quickly fade, particularly in warm, dry weather, and I’m kept busy deadheading them to stop them wasting their energy producing seeds. Hopefully they’ll put on a show next year.
The Narcissi in pots go on a little longer, the varieties Thalia and Sunlight Sensation seem to be the latest flowering.
The water buttercup in the pond is wonderful at this time of year, and the flowering Cherry is at it’s peak for it’s all too short flowering. Azaleas and Rhododendrons are in bud, readying themselves for a wonderful show over the next month.
Vegetables and fruit:
A third sowing of lettuce, maybe these will succeed; the last two have been eaten by the slugs and snails. The rocket is doing well. These are last year’s plants. Its a particularly peppery variety.
The spinach (leaf beet) is growing well. I’ll need to keep it harvested to stop it bolting. Hopefully we’ll keep it going for another month.
Elsewhere in the garden:
The Beech hedge is coming into leaf. The leaves are so lovely as they break open – soft, light green and the folds are clear..
Listen to the podcast to hear all about my gardening month.
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Music:
AKM Music licenses Horticulture for use in this podcast.